Findings from the IALSS reveal that differences in ICT use by gender are small in Canada. There are virtually no significant differences between men and women on all three ICT indices. Narrow gaps in ICT use by gender are characteristic of much of North America (Veenhof, Clermont and Sciadas, 2005), but this pattern differs markedly from those found in other parts of the world, particularly in developing countries (Huyer, Hafkin, Ertl and Dryburgh, 2005). In addition, gender differences in ICT use are often higher during the early stages of the introduction of new technologies but decline over time (Veenhof, Clermont and Sciadas, 2005).
Educational attainment and ICT use are strongly related in Canada. Studies undertaken elsewhere have found that those with more education have higher ICT skills, but also that more educated people tend to work more with computers, thus making it difficult to determine whether education or employment has the largest impact on ICT use (DfES, 2003). Nonetheless, education represents an important means to develop at least basic ICT skills (OECD, 2004a) and sometimes ICTs are integrated with learning activities to develop competencies other than computer skills. In Canada, ICT use increases with advancing levels of education. The gap in ICT use is most apparent between respondents who have completed upper secondary education and those who have not. Individuals with low levels of education tend to be at a disadvantage in the labour market and their relatively lower familiarity with and use of ICTs may exacerbate this situation. Although differences by levels of education exist for all three ICT indices, the relationship is weakest for the index of perceived usefulness and attitude toward computers.